CL: Chapter 13 – Golden Week, Part 1

It has been a day since Ryū-senpai… err… Ryū asked me to date him. Everything went well as he became a lot nicer toward me. It’s like he morphed into a different person; although, he is still cold at times. This attitude of his is usually evident when I act stupid. Sometimes, I intentionally act stupid to test his patience with me.

It’s finally Friday, one of the favorite days of a student; what makes it even better is that next week will be the most awaited Golden Week[1].

([1] Golden Week – is a week from the 29th of April to early May containing a number of Japanese holidays.)

I’m ecstatic since it’s going to be a long vacation but, at the same time, down, since I won’t be able to see Ryū for a while. I gave out a deep sigh as I packed my things in my bag to get ready for school.

I left my room and I immediately saw a guy with a handsome face, leaning against the wall — it was Ryū. He was waiting for me. I smiled at him but he huffed and furrowed his brows.

“What took you? Let’s go,” he said with an annoyed tone.

“Sorry. I was just thinking about something,” I grinned.

“You actually know how to think?” he sarcastically said.

“Hmpf, you’re a real meanie. You should be happy that I agreed to date you,” I pouted.

“I should be the one to say that, Ki-tan~~,” he smirked but then acted all cute.

“Boy, what a bipolar,” I groaned with squinted eyes.

He chuckled as he draped his arm on my shoulders. He held onto me, close enough for people to doubt what our relationship is.

I blushed and almost wanted to push him away from me. It’s not that I was worried for myself, it’s just that I was worried for him. He was a well-known person in the university. I’m afraid that people will gossip about him, about us.

It’s a warm spring day and he is still holding onto me. I felt so hot that I wanted to push him away but he wouldn’t let go at all. It’s like his arm was glued to me.

We walked along the university sidewalk. I could see a lot of people glaring at us. I felt uneasy.

“Don’t mind them. They’re just jealous,” he said. I guess he noticed how tense I was.

I felt relieved when he said that. His words were like the Sutras to me; so powerful that it made me obey wholeheartedly.

He walked me to my classroom. While we traversed the corridors, we bumped into Ken-senpai.

“Hey guys! Ohayō!” he greeted.

I greeted him good morning while Ryū just smiled at him.

“Whoa~~ something smells fishy here,” he suspiciously remarked while staring at Ryū’s arm on my shoulders. He looked stunned and abruptly said: “Fuck, bro! You came out of the closet?!?”

“Yeah. When will you?” Ryū groaned while he clenched his teeth.

I just chuckled seeing them like this.

“I’ll see you around lunch-time,” Ryū told me. He then messed my hair up.

“Hey! It took me an hour to fix that,” I sulked.

Both of them laughed.

“Kichirō-san!” someone called me.

I looked back and saw it was Ki-kun. When he approached me with a smiling face, I felt a cold aura emanate from behind me. It sent chills to my bones. Without looking back, I knew Ryū was frowning and glaring.

“Hi! How are you?” I casually said.

He tapped my arm and laughed: “We just saw each other yesterday.”

The cold aura became a chilling winter breeze on a warm spring day. I can almost feel my face freezing. I just smiled to conceal that I was wary about the situation.

“Oh, Aniki. It’s the Golden Week already. Do you have any plans? I want to invite you to go home with me in Sapporo,” he enthusiastically said.

“Eto…,” I was hesitant to respond because I knew that any moment now, a dangerous bomb might explode.

“Hey, hottie! I’m very available. You can invite me; I won’t turn the offer down,” Ken-senpai interrupted and winked at Ki-kun.

Ki-kun frowned and said: “I never had the intention to invite you, Senpai.”

“C’mon! You promised me a date before. Do you think I forgot about that? I’ll wait for you after school so that we can travel in the afternoon. Fortunately we’re only here until 1 pm,” he insisted and started to walk away. He dragged Ryū along with him.

Ryū looked like he was about to explode but it’s a good thing Ken-senpai intervened. I felt relieved.

Ryū looked back and pointed his index finger at me and ordered: “Lunch. You and me.” Then walked away.

Ki-kun looked confused and asked: “What’s up with you and him?”

“Nothing,” I plainly said.

“You’re hiding something, Kichirō-san,” he pried.

“Oh, about the Golden Week, I’m sorry but I have plans with my family. At least Ken-senpai will go with you,” I changed the topic.

“…,” he looked listless and did not respond at all.

I chuckled and started to tease him: “Hey, Ki-kun. I noticed that you and Ken-senpai have been close lately.

“We’re not. Like what I said before, I’m not interested in popular guys; not to mention, if that person is none other than Ken-senpai,” he sighed.

“Hey, you look good together,” I continued to tease him.

“If you were to ask me, I’d rather date you,” he snickered.

“Stop it, you’re not funny,” I rolled my eyes.

“Ha ha! I was just teasing you because you kept on insisting that there’s something going on with me and Ken-senpai,” he laughed.

“Hmpf,” I frowned.

“I should be the one teasing you because I’ve heard lately from others that they have seen you and Ryū-senpai looking like a newly-wed couple,” he reverted to the previous topic.

I didn’t respond at all and started to fidget.

“I understand, Aniki. You don’t have to tell me right now. I am willing to wait for you to explain everything. Right now, I need you to help me find an excuse to stop Ken-senpai from going with me,” he looked worried.

“Ki-kun, just give Senpai a chance. He may just want to be friends with you,” I reasoned.

“Heh, I know he just wants to get in my pants,” he sighed. “Wait, I have an idea. Why don’t you and Ryū-senpai tag along with us?” he pleaded.

“I’ll ask Ryū-senpai and check with my mom if I can go,” I said. I don’t actually have anything to do during the holidays but I just don’t feel like traveling somewhere far. Hokkaido is a long way from Kyoto, after all. Since he looked so pitiful, I changed my mind: “Okay, I will convince them.”

“Yipee! I’ll look forward to that,” he looked delighted. “Make sure to get ready after class then. I’m definitely sure they will all agree. It will be fun. I swear,” he added with a smile on his face.

I’m not worried about convincing my mom; my greatest worry is — how to convince Ryū?